Depeche Mode announce new album ‘Memento Mori’, detail 2023 world tourThe duo's forthcoming dates include headline shows at Twickenham Stadium in London, and Primavera Sound in Barcelona and Madrid
Depeche Mode have announced their 15th studio album, ‘Memento Mori’, and detailed a world tour for 2023.
Read More: Depeche Mode’s 11 best songs
During a press conference in Berlin today (October 4), frontman Dave Gahan and main songwriter Martin Gore previewed a piece of music from their upcoming LP, which they’ve been recording in Santa Barbara, California.
The pair are due to head to New York following the event to finish working on the James Ford-produced new record.
“We’re quite far into it now, the actual recording process,” Gore explained. “We’ve got all of the tracks finished for the album, without them being mixed.”
Gahan said that Depeche Mode had begun writing the material “a couple of years back”, before eventually reuniting in the studio this summer.
A “memento mori” is an object that’s kept as a reminder of the inevitability of death – a skull, for example. According to Gore, the album’s title was in place prior to the passing of founding member Andy Fletcher aged 60 in May.
“It sounds very morbid, but I think you can look at it very positively as well,” he continued. “In that [you should] live each day to the max. I think that’s how we like to interpret it too.”
Gore said: “After Fletch’s passing, we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.”
‘Memento Mori’ – the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Spirit’ – is set to arrive in Spring 2023 via Columbia Records. An exact date has not yet been confirmed.
Additionally, Depeche Mode have announced a world tour for 2023, including a concert at Twickenham Stadium in London. Tickets go on general sale at 10am this Friday (October 7) – buy yours here (UK).
Tickets for the North American leg of the stint also go on sale this week – you’ll be able to purchase yours here.
Next June, Depeche Mode will headline Primavera Sound in Barcelona and Madrid.
Depeche Mode’s 2023 tour dates are as follows:
MARCH
23 – Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center
25 – San Jose, CA SAP Center
28 – Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum
30 – Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena
APRIL
02 – San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
05 – Chicago, IL United Center
07 – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena
09 – Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
12 – Montreal, QC Centre Bell
14 – New York, NY Madison Square Garden
MAY
16 – Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome
20 – Antwerp, BE Sportpaleis Antwerpen
23 – Stockholm, SE Friends Arena
26 – Leipzig, DE Leipziger Festwiese
28 – Bratislava, SK Národný Futbalový Štadión
31 – Bordeaux, FR Matmut Atlantique
JUNE
02 – Barcelona, ES Primavera Sound Festival
04 – Dusseldorf, DE Merkur Spiel-Arena
06 – Dusseldorf, DE Merkur Spiel-Arena
09 – Madrid, ES Primavera Sound Festival
11 – Bern, CH Stadion Wankdorf
14 – Dublin, IE Malahide Castle
17 – London, UK Twickenham Stadium
20 – Munich, DE Olympiastadion
22 – Lille, FR Stade Pierre Mauroy
24 – Paris, FR Stade de France
27 – Copenhagen, DK Parken
29 – Frankfurt, DE Deutsche Bank Park
JULY
04 – Lyon, FR Groupama Stadium
07 – Berlin, DE Olympiastadion
12 – Rome, IT Stadio Olympico
14 – Milan, IT San Siro
16 – Bologna, IT Stadio Renato Dall’Ara
21 – Klagenfurt, AT Wörthersee Stadion
23 – Zagreb, HR Arena Zagreb
26 – Bucharest, RO Arena Națională
28 – Budapest, HU Puskás Aréna
30 – Prague, CZ Letňany Airport
AUGUST
02 – Warsaw, PL PGE Narodowy
06 – Tallinn, EE Tallinna Lauluväljak
08 – Helsinki, FI Kaisaniemen Puisto
August 11 – Oslo, NO Telenor Arena
In August, Gahan and Gore were pictured together in a recording studio. “Finding stability in what we know and love, and focusing on what gives life meaning and purpose,” they captioned the image on social media.
Depeche Mode last week shared an image of a mixing desk and teased the something would be happening today. The group then confirmed an announcement for midday BST in Berlin.
Speaking to NME about the future of Depeche Mode last year, Gahan hinted that the band would get back in the studio in 2022.
He said: “There’s a tonne of stuff that we’ve done with Depeche Mode that I’m really proud of. I think that’s come with time and age. Martin put out a record last year which I really liked. I actually bought a copy because it wouldn’t feel right otherwise.
“I know he’s been pottering away in his studio as well, so I guess at some point next year we’ll get together. Hopefully at least to just have a chat about what we both feel like we could move forward with.”
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Depeche Mode "Memento Mori Tour Special Event October 4th 2022ladies and gentlemen our heartfelt welcome to a special conversation with Depeche Mode here at the historic Berlin Ensemble please let me introduce you to our host Tonight a warm welcome for author publicist and Chelsea fan a dear friend of the band Barbara Sharon all right
and also two gentlemen that you may know from many moons before Mr Dave Gahan and Martin Gore
Chelsea fan that was good that changes everything I think my applause was bigger it's a nice theater isn't it it's beautiful so thank you all very much for coming we've just heard a teaser from the forthcoming new Depeche Mode album and it's incredibly exciting that we're all here today the band of just taking time out from recording in Santa Barbara to come back to Berlin which is the home of many happy Depeche Mode memories and then when they finish here they're going to go back to New York to finish working on the album I know right now you can't really talk about it too much you can't give us too many details but I'm sure you can give us a little hint of what's to come besides from that fabulous music we heard Martin do you want to kick off oh well we we're uh we're quite far into it now the actual recording process we've got all of the tracks finished kind of for the album without them being mixed um and as you can probably kind of guess from the the title of the album there is we haven't revealed that yet sorry we haven't revealed oh you haven't oh okay we'll get to that okay so I can't say a word then
how did it feel to be back in the studio
um we it was really good we we had a really good time together sort of doing it we started working on these songs I mean the writing probably yeah a couple of years back well most of the most of the songs I understand were written before the during the pandemic so before Fletch died and you were always planning on recording this in the summer starting recording yeah we yeah um that sort of changed a lot of things that we were doing at the time of course pledge passing but um uh yeah so we were Martin and I had been uh communicating and sort of send in some things back and forth to each other
you know I'd sort of with my own few things that I had played very badly on a guitar and singing to my iPhone and I'd send it to mine and then he'd send it back with his beautiful Angelic voice on it and lots of other bits and pieces and you know suddenly would become more of a song um and Martin sent me a whole bunch of songs I think at first like about six songs or something they've been working on um so I started so singing them or getting you know can do something we got together the first time in uh just for a couple of weeks I guess a few months ago now yeah something like middle of July I think it was yeah and but yeah one one thing I think it's important to say is that you know all of the songs and even the album title was kind of decided before Andy passed well you can say the title of the album so yeah the the album title is Memento Mori which um you know means remember remember you all die remember that you must die or you must die will die must die and um you know I I it sounds very morbid but I think you know you can look at your very positively as well in uh you know live each day to the max I think that's how we like to interpret it interpret it too
and Dave what did you think of the title when you heard it um it was around sort of same time Martin started to send some some of his songs he sent me like first it was six demos of songs that he had written um and we were just talking we started to you know talk about I don't know what we felt the feel of some of the songs or its direction might want to go in and um and Martin said you know I actually I had this idea for a title um and I liked it immediately I just think the direct translation as well is sort of it was something wasn't it was like uh that used to you told me the sort of History it was first what was the the first it was it Roman times Roman or earlier maybe even earlier they used to walk behind an emperor or something you know after he won a great Victory and some somebody would walk behind him saying Memento Mori so so humble humble remember remember that you must die also you know you know it's got a new poignancy also what with Andy gone yeah we took on another I guess it took on a I mean all the songs you know when you once I started singing as well for me anyway in the studio you know at Martin's house um
yeah of course you as songs always do as you perform them even over years and years songs that um I've been singing for years they they always take on different forms depending on what's going on in your personal life or what's going on in the world you know and I'm sure it's the same for all of you too you know they they represent different times and some of these songs of course you can't help but reflect um and when we were in the studio together you know um many times we would we would joke or things would come up and of course we missed that you know Fletch would comment on something or he would you know you know and those those things those are the things that you miss about someone when they're not they're the things that you kind of take for granted when they are there um so yeah I think I speak for Matt as well and said you know he was he was really missed in in the process he was there in spirit I think so summertime you know there was one I got to say I was like just recently I was sitting uh outside in my hotel a little balcony and I was sitting sort of watching uh in the morning and someone in a room near me was smoking a cigarette and uh I I you know and many times I've been there before like working at Martin's Place and and for a moment I sort of like expected to hear Fletch say all right I've you know because he was like in the room next door or something but little things like that you know I'm sure Martin is the same for you yeah I mean because we recorded at my place mainly and then in another studio in La that we've never worked in before we'd never worked at my place um as a band so and because I was used to going there every day anyway to work it didn't seem so strange I mean obviously it was a bit strange but not so as strange as it would have been if we'd have worked in studios that we worked in before but when we came to Berlin on Saturday evening and I walked into the hotel and I saw the bar where I'm so used to seeing Andy like every single time yeah so you know you're just used to seeing him so much there that that really hit me well one thing on this um album that you'll all be surprised is that uh depash are going to be breaking with tradition and starting their touring with a special limited run of shows in North America this spring followed by lots of stadium shows in Europe in next summer so you must be really excited about taking this new album on the road and going back on tour yeah I mean right now we're you know as Martin said with the focus is on finishing the record having to finish and so this was kind of uh we had to sort of jump out of how we were working together to do to do this and to talk about and so you know of course thinking about um how we're gonna you know perform some of these songs and how they will be integrated with songs that you all know already um you know and some corbyn of course is you know already working away on on lots of different parts of the design and photographs and ideas for and you play great venues Madison Square Garden London's Twickenham Stadium the start de France in Paris and the San Siro in Milan so pretty exciting yeah I can see Martin you're very excited no I mean it's of course it's exciting to play those places you know it's a yeah it's a it's a dream to play those places isn't it it's not until you walk on stage in those places that you you really get to feel what that's like I mean right now we're not there of course we've been locked away in the studio but um which has been great it's been a really enjoyable process like making this record with Martin um and James Ford and Marta saloni one thing Martin that you must be really excited about is the fact that the Gunners Arsenal are top of the league in England yeah I haven't been able to say that for quite a few years not for not very often so uh yeah I am very happy about that what just happened everybody just suddenly started I don't there's something uh oh
something something happened I don't know
there was a change in energy suddenly there was an audience you know it must have been Arsenal yeah
yes we were just saying before we were rudely interrupted that um Arsenal and Martin's football team are top of the league in England and I think Dave you're excited about the Knicks starting a new basketball new season you know well you've got a season ticket I'm I'm a season ticket holder yes and you'll be playing their venue as well yeah which is always it's great to sit there watching a basketball game and then I sort of always look over at the other end that's where I am over there we'll just have to get Martin to get the Emirates yeah yeah well what happened so I think we're going to take a couple questions from um from the audience uh there's somebody with a Mike Merrick's got the mic does anybody have a question
yeah
yes yes
we we actually uh did a few days of recording at Rick rube in the studio but um Rick Rubin wasn't involved we just worked in his Studio he let us use his place for a few days
what was that I'm sorry
you have to speak up I guess uh good to see you again uh is there an idea to make Andy Fletcher tribute during the forthcoming gigs on a tournament we've got some thoughts and um this there's certain songs that were big favorites of Fletchers and we'll make something of one of those songs Maybe but we're still that that process is still uh happening with you know what we're going to be doing on stage and how we're going to do it and what visuals we're going to use and things so it's nice for a surprise yeah I mean he'll be there in spirit anyway or I'm sure you know judging us
do you want to get the mic over here who else is going to be in the live band we've got um the live band is actually here tonight we're going to ask Christian and Pete to stand up Mr Peter godino and the Christian Eichner and
they they actually said that they would stand up and sing something acapella for you
I'm very very handsome they are as well
laughs yes yeah we're waiting is that it for questions is this might work does it work yes yeah well I'd like to thank you we'll have one more question
yes thank you um Dave you already mentioned that things uh change in time uh what do you think nowadays we have wars in Europe things like that people die you're mentioned too what do you think what is the impact of Music in nowadays what can you change with music nowadays thank you mine and I were talking about this earlier but as well it's like um we get to we get to make music and we get to play music for you um hopefully bring a sense of joy and togetherness you know um in our own small way um yeah in a world that seems to be constantly uh in some kind of turmoil so it sometimes feels a bit strange to to be able to do this um at any time but you know to be able to walk on a stage and um and bring some joy to a lot of people I hope uh is something that I think we're we're pretty proud of
well I think that's it for the questions but we want to thank you sorry one more please
sort of thank you uh sorry have you ever thought about the special unplugged uh show on performance for example doing this tour we can't really unplug because we're electronic I know
okay
we'll try we'll do something we could try with battery packs or something I think that's a really good point and uh we wanted to thank everyone for coming and we're going to leave you with uh a short video uh with all the tour dates and you've seen them as well hopefully it's gonna wet your appetite towards the end of March the album's coming up towards the end of March yes in the spring yeah that's great thank you all right
thank you
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looking for that code… cant wait!
first of all sorry for the bad english. we are from germany and flying to LA in march 2023 
to attend the depeche mode concert. we thought we could ask here if there is someone who also goes there and wants to celebrate the concert together. we sit at section 204, row 19. maybe we also could enjoy LA nightlife together afterwards. maybe there is a depeche aftershow party 
that someone knows about .
